From patent specification US 1 718 014 an elevator car has become known whose walls form a passenger space or a freight space. The walls are composed of rectangular-shaped panels. At least along both of its long sides, each panel is bent, the panel section that is bent by approximately 90° being bent along its edge by a further 90°. The bent panel section touches the bent panel section of the adjacent panel, a clamping section that releasably joins the- two adjacent panels at the bent edges being slideable over the bent edges along the long side of the panel. The car wall that is visible to the user of the elevator car therefore comprises a closed surface with only fine joint gaps between the panels.

Disadvantageous with this type of panel fastening is the difficult installation of the clamping sections, since the panels extend over the entire height of the car and, correspondingly, the clamping sections must be pushed along the entire height of the car over the bent edges of the bent panel sections, the frictional force, and hence the force for pushing, continuously increasing on account of the clamping effect. Also, when replacing a panel, the clamping join is disadvantageous, because for one panel two clamping sections must be removed and inserted again. The invention as characterized in Claim 1 provides a solution for avoiding the disadvantages of the known device, and creating car walls and/or a car ceiling with panels for an elevator car that are/is easily removable and easily replaceable.

Advantageous further developments of the invention are stated in the dependent patent claims. The advantages that are obtained from the various exemplary embodiments are mainly to be seen in that the panels that form the car walls or car ceiling are installable and exchangeable from the interior space of the elevator car. Sections that are fastened to the car frame serve the panels as supports, the edges of the panels being clip-fastenable onto the, for example, omega-shaped supporting sections. The walls and/or the ceiling of the elevator car can be installed in a short time, and individual panels are also easily replaceable or exchangeable. The advantageous installation allows, for example, the optical appearance of the walls and/or of the ceiling to be changed without great outlay. For example, the color scheme or pictorial scheme of the walls and/or of the ceiling can be changed in a short time.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in greater detail by reference to the attached figures.

Shown are in

Fig. 1,

an elevator with an elevator car and a counterweight; Fig. la,

an exemplary embodiment of panels that form a car wall or a car ceiling; Fig. 2,

a cross section along the line A-A of Fig. la; Fig. 3,

a cross-section B of Fig. 2, with details of a clip-in fastening between supporting sections and panels;

Fig. 4,

the characteristics of a supporting section; Fig. 5,

details of a panel;

Fig. 5a,

a cross section through two adjacent panel corners;

Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, car equipment that is installable in the car walls or in the car ceiling.

Fig. 1 shows an elevator AZ with an elevator car AK and a counterweight GG . A suspension means TM connects the elevator car AK and the counterweight GG and is passed over a traction sheave TS, which drives the suspension means TM. The elevator car AK is composed essentially of a car frame 7, which is connected to the suspension means TM and supports a floor BD, walls 1, and a ceiling 2. Further components of the elevator car, for example the car doors, are not shown.

Fig. la shows an exemplary embodiment of panels 3 that form a car wall 1 or a car ceiling 2. Each panel 3 is clippably arranged with at least two first fastening elements 4, which are shown in Fig. 2, the second fastening elements 4, which are part of a clip-in fastening, being arranged on the car frame 7. The car frame 7 is guided on guiderails and, as stated above, connected to the suspension means TM, which is movable by means of the traction sheave TS of an elevator drive.

Fig. la shows several panels 3, which are arranged on supporting sections 4, each panel 3 being clippably arranged on two supporting profiles 4 that run parallel. Between two adjacent panels 3, a fine, first joint gap 5 is formed by the clippable joint. On the panel sides without clip-in fastening, the panels 3 rest loosely against each other and form a fine, second joint gap 6. Along wall edges or ceiling edges, the two fastening elements 4, hereinafter referred to as supporting sections 4, are engaged with clip-in fastenings from one side only, the other supporting sections 4 are engaged with clip-in fastenings from two sides.

As variant embodiment of a car wall or a car ceiling, additional supporting sections that run perpendicular to the shown supporting sections 4 can be provided. In this variant, the panels are clip-fastenable on, for example, four sides.

Size and/or shape and/or surface of the panels 3 can differ. Square, as shown in Fig. la, or rectangular, or other shapes, or several shapes mixed, are possible. The supporting sections 4 shown in Fig. la can, for example, also be wave-shaped, curved, or zigzag-shaped . Fig. 2 shows a cross section along the line A-A of Fig. la through the, for example, approximately omega-shaped supporting sections 4 and through the panels 3. The supporting sections 4 are arranged on the diagrammatically illustrated car frame 7 or on the parts that are fastened to the car frame 7. Each supporting section 4 has a foot 8, a first arm 9, and a second arm 10. The foot 8 is fastened to the car frame 7, at their free ends the arms converge and form a slit-shaped constriction 11, through which the edges of two panels 4 can be clipped. The arms 9, 10 possess spring properties and, when clipping-in the panel edges at the constriction 11, can be moved apart by means of a force Fl which is shown in Fig. 4.

Instead of the shown approximately omega-shaped supporting sections 4, supporting sections 4 can be used which in cross section are, for example, approximately circular or triangular and provided with a constriction 11. Independent of a concrete shape of a supporting section, at a constriction the latter can be parted when a panel 3 is inserted. Furthermore, the shape is so selected that a secure holding in position of a panel 3 is assured.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, at the edges along at least two parallel sides, each panel is bent into first fastening elements 12, 13, a first panel section 12 which is bent by approximately 90° being bent by a further 180° into a second panel section 13. The bent first panel section 12 touches against the bent first panel section 12 of the adjacent panel 3. The bent second panel section 13 of the panel 3, together with the bent second panel section 13 of the adjacent panel 3, is pushed through the constriction 11, whereby the forces Fl shown in Fig. 4 are generated, and the free arms 9, 10 are moved apart. After complete clipping-in of the second panel section 13, through their spring properties the arms move at the constriction 11 in opposite directions and hold the first panel sections 12 together.

Instead of being bent, the panel sections 12, 13 of the panels 3 can also be welded or adhesively bonded onto the panel 3. It is also self-evident that the first panel section 12 and the second panel section 13 can be replaced by a single panel section that fulfils the function of the panel sections 12, 13. This panel section can be, for example, drop-shaped or wedge-shaped, etc.

As shown in Fig. 3, the second panel sections 13 are situated in the clipped-in position in a hollow space 14 of the supporting section 4, an end 15 of the second panel section 13 resting against one of the arms 9, 10 without hooking-in, and holding the panel in an approximately vertical plane of a wall or ceiling surface that is formed by the panels 3. Fig. 5 shows details of an exemplary embodiment of a panel 3. On the panel corners, the bent panel sections 12, 13 have cutaways 16. In such a cutaway 16, the first panel section 12 is embodied only as a stub, the second panel section 13 is entirely absent. Fig. 5a shows a cross-section through two adjacent panel corners which have cutaways 16 according to Fig. 5. A tool 17, for example a hook, can be pushed between the stub-like first panel sections 12 and hooked into the panel stub. With this tool 17 a panel is non-destructively removable, replaceable or exchangeable by the tool 17 being moved in the direction of the arrow PFl. The panel sections 12, 13 thereby leave the supporting section 4 non-destructively .

Also possible are panels 3 without cutaways 16 at their corners. It is self-evident that the panels 3 shown in figures la, 2, 3 and 4 can be embodied with or without cutaways 16. If no cutaways 16 are present, in one case, for example, small holes are provided at the panel corners, through which the aforementioned tool 17 can be inserted. Otherwise, tools 17 are used that operate, for example, on the vacuum principle, or on the magnet principle, and adhere to the panel surface.

Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 show exemplary car equipment that can be built into the car walls or into the car ceiling.

Individual panels 3 can be provided with, for example, a ventilation grille 18 or with a lighting device 19.

As variant embodiment, the panels can be fastenable with other fastening means that operate, for example, on the push-button principle, or on the Velcro principle, or on the magnet principle.